Who?
by i.took.to.the.sky
Summary: Bliss is hearing voices. They whisper memories to her, memories that didn't happen...or did they?
1. Chapter 1

T.A.R.D.I.S. Wibbly wobbly timey whimey stuff. I like bananas, bananas are good. Always wait five and a half hours. 900 years. Are you my Mummy? It's bigger on the inside. Don't blink. Anywhere in space and time.

Bliss's eyes snapped open and the voices in her head shut off abruptly. She blinked up at the ceiling, the massive headache that was becoming a constant in her life was back, hovering at the edges of her brain, just waiting to strike.

Groaning she forced herself to sit up, empty Diet Snapple bottles clinked as her feet searched for her slippers among the piles of crumpled paper and broken pencil leads on the floor. Shakily she got herself standing, another late night and tonight would probably be the same, sleep was one thing that she could never seem to get enough of. Not that she didn't try to get it, as the various sleep aids cluttering her bathroom counter attested to Bliss was constantly on the search for a way to get a few extra hours. Unfortunately the voices usually had other plans and Bliss spent most of her night's drawing out their whisperings.

The voices weren't what most people would refer to them as, over the last few months Bliss had heard them called many things, schizophrenic, multi personality disorder even demon possession. These accusations were usually preludes to people moving away from her on the bus or taking children out of her class. The final blow had come when the principal of the school she worked at had told her that it might be wise for her to take the next couple of weeks off, just to get her head in order. Bliss felt it useless to point out that according to her latest doctors visit/head scan her head was very much in order, he just didn't want any more business taken away from his school. Like the parents didn't pay enough tuition?

Sighing Bliss stumbled to the kitchen and opened the fridge she wrinkled her nose in distaste, nothing looked good, sighing again she shut the door.

BAM! A blue box, the door opened to a whole new world and a man, a man with many faces.

Bliss shook her head violently, the blue box was gone, it was just a fridge. Gasping and blinking back tears she allowed her knees to give out, the floor was cool underneath her cheek. Her exhausted eyes fluttered shut, what was happening to her? What was happening?!

-20 Years Ago -

The clock read midnight, that was it, it was officially her 22nd birthday, glancing around the same room she had slept in her entire life Bliss could hardly believe how fast the time had flown.

There were the crayon marks from when she had wanted to "decorate" by herself when she was five. There was the pink stain peeking out from under the rug from when she had spilled that entire bottle of nail polish onto her hardwood floor. The walls were covered in pictures from middle and high school and her artwork, the ones that had won prizes at least. Mom had always been so proud whenever she brought home a ribbon, she'd take the piece to Michael's Crafts to get it framed. It all seemed like it had happened yesterday.

A meow interrupted her thoughts, her cat Ranger pushed his face against her window screen begging to be let in.

"Hey boy," Bliss said, sliding out of bed and pulling the window open, Ranger jumped inside, "You come to wish me happy birthday?"

"It's your birthday?" Ranger said, Bliss jumped back in surprise, "Well that's wonderful!" Bliss leaned closer to her cat, who leaped up on her bed and was busy washing his paws.

"Ranger?"

"No, I'm afraid it's just me," the voice said again. Bliss turned back towards the window, a man was peering in through the open frame. He wore a brown trench coat and a crooked smile, under normal circumstance Bliss would have thought he was cute.

"I've met talking cats before," he continued, "though sadly they were trying to kill me. Don't really like cats now" Bliss didn't really know to respond to this other than doing the obvious, backing away slowly.

"Anyways," the man went on, "I was wondering if I could borrow your bedroom?"

"My-my bedroom?"

"Yes."

Bliss didn't know why, but she nodded. Of course she wouldn't realize it until later but it was the best impulsive decision of her life.

"Great," the man heaved himself through her open window then shut it with a bang. He pointed a stick thing with a glowing blue ball at it. The shades pulled down on their own and Bliss heard the lock click shut. The stick then flashed at the door and the deadbolt that hadn't worked since she was a baby slid into place, the sick flashed once more and the lights went out.

"Now if you would keep very quiet," the man was standing right behind her. Bliss could feel his breath on the back of her neck, he didn't need to worry about her making noise this whole experience thus far had rendered her speechless. Minutes passed, Outside the moon was lighting up the front yard almost as bright as the sun, it's rays pressed against the curtains, Bliss could see the shadow of the tree outside her window waving in the breeze….wait a minute…her tree didn't have a head.

The shadow danced closer, it's arms kept moving but it's head remained still. A sucking sound registered through the glass, like someone was trying to get the last few drops of lemonade out from among the ice cubes at the bottom of their cup. Bliss could feel the terror rising in her throat, every hair on her body stood to attention, she wanted to scream. To scream and run for it, but her feet wouldn't move, her mouth wouldn't open, all she could do was watch in horror as the whatever outside seemed to find her window uninteresting and began to move away.

"Meow!" Ranger! The tabby wound his way around her legs, begging for a late night snack, "Meow!" The shadow froze, then started drifting closer once more. Bliss bent over to pick up her animal in hopes of shushing him…

…And smacked her head on the bedframe.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, before she could stop herself.

The man winced, she heard his sharp intake of breath…and then all hell broke loose.

With the crash of breaking glass an enormous brown tentacle pushed its way into her room. The man started shouting something or other but Bliss could only hear her own heartbeat. The brown tentacle was followed by another and another and another, wrapping around the walls, curling under the rugs, seeking something.

Ranger, his eyes narrowed into glowing green slits, his body puffed up to three times its regular size launched himself at one of the tentacles at the same time the man, grabbed her by the hand pointed his glow stick at the door and quite literally dragged her from the room. They had gone maybe two steps before Bliss's trance broke.

"Ranger!" she ripped her hand from the mans and whirled back into the chaos. Her brave cat was still clinging to one of the brown arms, scratching away for all he was worth. Bliss rushed towards him and yanked him free, spinning back towards the hallway…

It was completely blocked, brown pulsating things had covered the space, Bliss gulped and turned back towards the window. Rangers head swiveled round and he let out a low growl; in the glow of the moon a figure appeared, its eyes took up most of its face, their glassy surface stark white against the brown bark that seemed to be its skin. The tentacles came from its sides, not tentacles Bliss thought branches, it was a tree…an evil… tree….okay then.

"Give us the Doctor!" the trees voice was a mushy growl, Bliss swallowed her fear.

"Doctor?" her voice certainly didn't show she was afraid, that would be because of those speech-giving lessons Grandma had made her go to last year. Suddenly she was glad she had attended that week of boredom, "We don't have any doctor here. I'm afraid you have the wrong house."

"We know he is here! Unveil him! Bring him forth!"

"I told you," Bliss took a step closer her she was right next to her bed there had to be some kind of weapon nearby, "There is no doctor here. My mother is a life-coach, my father is an author. You've got the wrong family!"

All the while she was saying this her hand had been frantically searching for something, anything that might let her escape. Scissors would have been perfect, unfortunately the only thing she could find was the mechanical pencil she had been drawing with earlier. Not ideal, but all she had, she clutched the plastic stalk in one sweaty hand. The other she kept firmly around a still growling Ranger.

"No Doctor?" the tree sounded pissed…really pissed, "Then he has escaped." Its arms kept creeping closer, its face contorted into what she supposed was a grin. "You are strong, you shall do for breeding. It has been so long since we heard the sound of saplings laughter."

Bliss laughed, her first without humor, "You know what," she said, striding closer to the face, "I'm good." And with all the strength she could muster she drove her pencil into the creatures eye.

The tree let out a glass breaking squeal, all its arms receded and it reeled away from the window. Without further thought Bliss leapt over the sill and sprinted off across her front lawn and down the road with Ranger still clutched to her chest. It would have been a brilliant getaway, unfortunately her bare foot snagged on some unseen obstacle and she went sprawling. Her head cracked against the street, Ranger let out a yowl and the last thing she saw was a pair of red converse running towards her.


	2. Chapter 2

Bliss woke to a strange noise, a mechanical kind of voice saying the words room, room, room over and over again. Maybe Dad was watching a Star Trek rerun, she could go for a Star Trek rerun and some French toast, oh yum French toast. Ranger was on her chest rubbing his furry head against her cheek.

"Hey buddy," Bliss tried to move her hand up to scratch him behind the ears but her arm wouldn't move. Well that was weird, slowly she opened her eyes.

She was lying in what appeared to be a bedroom, not her bedroom, but a definite bedroom… of some sort or another, or at least, she was in a bed. She tried to lift her head to get a better view but that wouldn't move either. Bliss broke out in a cold sweat, was she paralyzed? Was she going to have to spend the rest of her life as a vegetable? She didn't want to be a vegetable!

"Help!" she shouted, well at least her voice still worked, "Heeeeeelp!" There was a sound of running footsteps, and then she assumed the bedroom door opened because the room, room, room sound got much louder. Ranger scrambled to all fours and let out a hiss.

"Oi! Shut it stupid cat!" that voice sounded incredibly familiar, the footsteps moved closer and then the man in the red converse was looming over her "You awake then?"

"I can't move," Bliss whimpered.

"What?" the man's eyebrows squidged together in a rather adorable way. If she really was a vegetable and he had to bathe her and feed her for the rest of her life then at least she'd be able to look at something cute.

"I can't move," she said again.

"Oh right!" the man's face disappeared there was a buzzing and suddenly she was free. Slowly she sat up, Ranger moved to her lap still looking deeply unhappy.

"Sorry about that," the man said, sitting down next to her, "I didn't know if you had a neck injury."

"So you froze me?!"

"No!" the man looked outraged at the very idea, "I just asked the bed to slow down the molecules in your nerves while you were sleeping bringing on temporary paralysis."

"Same difference," Bliss said, rubbing the back of her neck and glancing around curiously, "Where exactly are we?"

"It is in no way the same, difference or no," apparently the man was ready to argue. He launched into a speech that lost Bliss halfway through the first sentence. Instead she took in the room, which was indeed a bedroom, a closet was set in the wall, caddy corner to which hung a full length mirror. A bookshelf stood next to the bed, fully stocked, she noticed several titles that were on her own shelves at home. The floor appeared to be made of metal but was covered in several over-lapping brightly colored rugs, but by far the most interesting point was the deep set window that took up the wall across from her. Through the glass Bliss saw a snow capped mountain rising from a crystal lake to pierce the pure blue sky.

"What the-" Bliss was out of bed and standing with her hands pressed against the glass in a heartbeat. She ignored the man's indignant sputters, "Where are we?"

"If you would listen when I'm talking!" the man had a British accent, how had she not noticed that before?

"Well maybe if you would talk less I'd listen more," Bliss told him, turning back to the window. Then she whirled around again, "Who are you anyways?"

The man had turned a lovely shade of puce, "I'm the Doctor and this is my bloody ship, I'll talk as much as I want!"

"Doctor?" Bliss raised an eyebrow, "Doctor who?"

"Like you would listen if I told you!" the Doctor spun on his heel and left, slamming the door behind him.

Ranger turned to look at her like, "What is his problem?"

"I don't know," she answered her cat. Her head had started hurting somewhere in all the shouting it decided this would be a good moment for her to remember that.

"Ow," she muttered, reaching a hand up to rub her scalp. There was a giant knot forming there, right above her temple. That should be fun to deal with later, right now though she needed answers…and possibly a ride home. Mom and Dad must be frantic with worry by now.

Whatever kind of ship they were on it was enormous. Bliss was thoroughly lost in no time, at her feet Ranger seemed to find everything fascinating. He bounded into corners, leaped at lights that blinked on the walls and swatted at the various fuse boxes they passed. Bliss shared her cats amazement, they walked along metal hallways filled with things that she didn't understand.

"Seriously what is this place?" she muttered to herself. Ranger ran around a corner and then a second later ran hissing back.

"That's right run!" the Doctor's voice echoed out of the space ahead. Bliss picked up her cat and then stepped forwards into a large metal room, in the center stood a …well honestly she wasn't sure what it was. The Doctor was standing next to it pointing his glow stick at things and fiddling with knobs muttering to himself.

"Your fur ball is mean," he said without turning around, "Most ungrateful creature I've ever met, him and you both."

"What did you do for me to be grateful for?" Bliss asked, coming up beside him, "Other than bringing an evil tree into my house?"

"I saved your life out there," the Doctor still wouldn't look at her and his voice was very soft, "Would it kill you to say thank you?"

Bliss laughed, her second without humor, "Saved my life? I saved my own life, thank you very much, all you did was bring me here!" She looked around the strange room again, "Where ever here is."

The Doctor started mumbling to himself again, flipping his switches and was a door Bliss saw, a wooden door, it looked out of place among all the metal. Bliss started towards it, behind her the Doctor stomped off down the hall still muttering. Laying a hand on the handle Bliss took a deep breath and stepped out, onto her street.

"What?" Bliss managed, she had been expecting the mountain from the window. A winter landscape, a forest. Instead she saw suburbia, the same houses, bushes and gardens she had known her whole life. The morning sun had warmed the pavement, it was almost too hot under her bare feet and there was her front yard, her…house?

Or what should have been her house.

Where it should have been was ….nothing. Just more woods, like the one that lined everyone on her street backyards, but that couldn't be right.

"Mom?!" Bliss was running towards her yard, "Dad?!" She set down Ranger in the grass and sprinted into the stretch of woods, "Mom?! Dad?!"

Nothing, no reply, no welcoming shouts, Bliss turned round and round hoping to catch sight of something…familiar but, there was nothing. Sinking to her knees Bliss let out a strangled sob, Ranger came up beside her, rubbing his head against her leg, she picked him up and buried her face in his fur.

"Bliss!" A voice came on the breeze, "Bliss!" Bliss looked up excitedly, there they were, her Mom and Dad striding towards her out of the forest gloom. Practically screaming with joy Bliss scrambled upright and ran towards them, or rather she tried.

"Don't," the Doctor grabbed her round the waist and held her fast, "it isn't them!" Bliss struggled frantically. Letting Ranger drop she kicked and twisted, shouting at him to let her go.

"It is them I can see them!" her parents hadn't gotten much closer, maybe they were afraid of the Doctor, if so she couldn't blame them. "Let me go!" The Doctor did no such thing in fact he started towing her backwards.

"Bliss it's not them, they just want you to think it is!"

Bliss stopped struggling, "How do you know my name?" Wind whipped past them, swirling through the tree trunks, but not a leave stirred, not a branch quivered. Ranger let out a low growl.

"I'll tell you everything I promise," her parents were waving at her to join them but something was off about their movements, they seemed too…jerky. "Just please, come back to the TARDIS."

"Back to the what?" the wind was howling now, a miniature gale force pushing through their hair, flattening the grass of her lawn. Her parents were running towards her but, they still hadn't gotten any closer.

"Yeah," Bliss let him usher her backwards, "maybe that's a good idea."

"Bliss, where are you going?" her Mom called.

"Bliss, we have birthday cake!" her Dad shouted. The Doctor quickened his pace, they were almost free of the trees and he was pushing her back towards a blue box that for some reason was standing next to the streets mailboxes.

"Wait Bliss," her Mom said, "don't forget Ranger."

Bliss felt a lead weight drop in her stomach, she turned and there was her beloved cat in the arms of her mother, but as she watched her shape began to blur, to fade away and underneath what had been her Mom was a familiar bark encrusted figure clinging to the scruff of Rangers neck.

"Ranger!"

Bliss sat up in a panic. The kitchen floor had left a red spot on her cheek. Muscles and bones protesting she heaved herself up and hobbled over to her art closet. Inside she found what she was looking for, her brushes, her water colors, her painting easel, she set up everything by the back window and began. Furiously reconstructing the memory that had never happened and yet she was sure it had.

But no, on her 22nd birthday she had gone to Rio, a gift from her Grandma. She and her two best friends had sunbathed on the beach topless and- no she had been with the Doctor, he had shown her the Tardis. Tears caught in the wrinkles on her cheeks as she painted scene after scene. The blue box, her Ranger batting at a switch, the picture window, the Doctor standing over her bed, she scrubbed at her face with the hem of her shirt as the tears continued to flow.

All too soon the voices came again and with them they brought the dark. Bliss accepted it, in fact it was welcome she sank into her chair, the overstuffed one with the footstool and let her mind slip back into the world that might have been.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ranger!" Bliss cried again, the Doctor had both arms around her waist and was towing her away, "Ranger, no!"

They had reached the box and with a grunt the Doctor pulled open the door and tossed her inside. Bliss was on her feet in an instant tugging at the handle, but the wood was unyielding. "Let me out!" Bliss banged both fists against the door, it didn't even rattle, "Doctor! Let me out!"

"Who are you?" the Doctors voice was magnified in the metal room. Bliss whirled around wildly searching for the source. Was it coming from one of the round things stuck to the wall? "What do you want with this planet?" Bliss ran to the counsel thing, a screen caught her eye it must have been a video camera on the outside of the blue box because there was the Doctor talking to the evil tree.

"We are the Aphremphous." The tree said, it's form kept flickering between that of her mother and it's true ugly self. Ranger squirmed in its grasp.

More trees began melting out of the woods, slithering across her lawn, forming a wall of waving branches and white blazing eyes. The Doctor to his credit didn't flinch or scream like Bliss was tempted to do, in fact he put his hands in his pockets as if he saw things like this every day. "We shall cover this world in forests once again and obliterate the filthy human race!"

The Doctor sighed and shook his head. "Now why must all alien races be intent on destruction? Why can't you ever just want to visit? Or, I don't know, bring delicious baked goods to all the postmen, but, noooo it's always world domination." He tipped his head back rolling his eyes at the sky, "Soooo un-original."

"You dare mock our great cause?" The lead tree hissed.

"Mock?" the Doctors head snapped back up, "No! I wouldn't dare, however," he raced forwards snatched Ranger from the lead tree and was halfway through the door before Bliss had time to blink, "that doesn't mean I'm not going to stop you."

Then he slammed the door in the furious tree army faces.

"Ranger!" Bliss grabbed her cat one armed and cuddled him close, he meowed in protest as she hugged him too tight, but she wasn't letting go for anything. Tears filled her eyes as she wrapped her free arm around the Doctors neck and buried her face in his suit jacket. "Thank you!"

"Um," the Doctor didn't seem to know what to do with his hands, he patted her back awkwardly, Ranger finally wriggled free and bounded out of her arms. He crawled under the counsel thing and crouched there glaring at them both.

Bliss stepped back and swiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I thought you didn't like cats," she said.

The Doctor cleared his throat nervously, "I don't, but yours said some especially rude, untrue things and I would have hated to prove him right."

Bliss arched an eyebrow, "You speak cat?" "I speak a lot of things." "Oh." They stared at each other for a long silent moment, the Doctor kept rubbing the back of his head. Finally Bliss couldn't take it anymore. "So how are you planning on stopping them?"

"Oh that," the Doctor actually cracked a smile, "I have no idea."

Bliss couldn't help but smile back," Nothing? No grand plans?"

"Not a one," the Doctor snorted and then a laugh bubbled up out of his throat. Bliss let out a steam of giggles, but sobered quickly as a new thought struck her.

"My parents! They'll be so worried!"

The Doctors smile faded," No, they won't."

Bliss could feel franticness starting to build in her chest, "What are you talking about of course they will! I'll bet they've already started making missing posters and sending my picture to be put on the back of milk cartons!" Bliss ran to the counsel and started fiddling with knobs and flipping switches hoping one of them might be a phone, the Doctor made a noise of protest and wrenched her hand off a dial. No doubt he was about to launch into another ten minute lecture about why no one could touch his things , but luckily the box shuddered and flipped sideways cutting him off.

"Oh now you've done it!" the Doctor grabbed hold of the railing as the box continued to shake and buck around them, like they were on a poorly maintained carnival ride and the conductor had spilled coffee on the controls.

Flattening herself to the metal floor Bliss watched in abject horror as the Doctor stumbled round and round his counsel banging on things with a rubber mallet. Wind picked up from nowhere, Bliss let out a screech as her ears popped and her stomach lodged itself up her throat, they were falling, falling, falling, falling….and then everything stopped.

A heartbeat later the Tardis let out one more particularly violent shudder, the Doctor cursed and smacked one of the screens with his mallet. Shakily Bliss crawled her way over to Ranger, who surprisingly was still crouched in the exact same spot. The cat leaped into her arms and dug all of his claws into her t-shirt as if to say, "I am never letting go!"

"Are you bonkers?!" the Doctor had crouched down next to her his face like a thundercloud, "No one drives the Tardis but me! What were you trying to do anyways? Take us to Kalamazoo?"

"I was looking for a phone!" Bliss was sad to admit but her voice was shaking, "I just wanted to let Mom and Dad know I was okay!"

The Doctors face softened. "Bliss your parents already know that."

"They do? How?"

"They're dead," he squeezed her hand, "The Aphremphous are only able to shift into creatures form who's essence they've devoured." His eyes were shiny though Bliss wasn't sure why he should be the one crying, "I'm sorry."

Bliss said nothing, only leaped to her feet and rushed at the doors, because this mad man couldn't be right. Her parents were not dead! They couldn't be! The Doctors glow stick flashed at the doors and they were immobile, Bliss pounded against them. She screamed, she raged, incomprehensible words flew at him like poisonous barbs. Tears streamed down her face, he would let her out! She had to find them! She had to get away from this whole crazy mess!

The Doctor had his arms around her again, in fact he had scooped her up and was carrying her down the hall. Weakly she pounded against his chest, sobs shaking her entire body, she had to go find them, they would be so worried. They entered the room she had woken up in and he set her gently on the bed. "I'm sorry." And then he was gone, shutting the door behind him. Ranger was still clinging to her shirt, she curled up on her side and held him close. What was she going to do now?


End file.
